The Demon in the Former Monster
by ChangingTheCircumstances
Summary: Loki's eyes have turned black and he's now hearing a voice that is saying it plans to control him. Can his friends find out what's wrong before it's to late? Sequel to 'Plan: Blackmail Iron Man.' Parings: Steve/Tony and Bruce/Loki. Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I'm back just like I promised! For those that don't know the order of my stories, it is:**

'**When Loki Spoke the Truth'**

'**Tony's Heart'**

'**Plan: Blackmail Iron Man'**

**You don't have to read the first or second one to really understand this one, most of the references from the first two explain themselves, but there are a lot of references back to 'Plan: Blackmail Iron Man' so I suggest you read that one at the very least if you don't want to read the other ones. The first part of this chapter is actually taken from the last chapter of that story, sort of like a prologue though the second half of the chapter actually begins the story.**

* * *

_There was one person missing. Loki. He had said he was going to go to the bathroom but that had been over ten minutes ago._

…

_Loki leaned over the sink in Tony's bathroom, his hair and the front of his t-shirt soaked and dripping. On the inside, he was burning up and no matter how much water he splashed onto himself he wouldn't cool down. Sweat mixed with tears and water over his body as he shook._

…

_"Maybe I should go check on him," murmured Bruce uncertainly. He could tell that something had been bothering him and that it had only started recently._

…

I'm not like that! It was different that one time.

No it wasn't. You still enjoyed killing those two people!

_The voice was there again. It wouldn't go away and Loki still had no idea where it was coming from. It was driving him mad._

…

_"Oh, leave him be," replied Tony with the wave of a bottle. "I'm sure he's fine."_

…

_"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" screamed Loki finally. His eyes flew open and he actually fell back from the shock of it. If he was in a regular bathroom he would have hit his head but this was Tony's, there was plenty of space between his head and any walls._

_However, that didn't matter at the moment. The main thing that mattered was what he saw in the mirror. Slowly, Loki got up and walked back over to the counter top and blinked several times to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light. But it wasn't. It was real. His eyes had turned_ _completely black._

…

_Bruce doubted that he was _fine_ but he decided that he might as well wait about two minutes more. For all he knew, Loki could simply have an upset stomach. However, something just seemed to tell him that that was defiantly not it._

…

I'm not getting out of your head. Not anytime soon. Instead, I'm going to do a test, see how blood thirsty you can really be. I've already done pretty well so far. By the end of next week you should be in my full control. Who do you think I should try it on next, maybe Bruce?

_Then Loki did something that he had never done in his life._

_He fainted from fright._

* * *

Loki's eyes squinted at the bright light. Above were worried faces, but he couldn't keep his eyes open. Besides, his vision still swam which made his stomach feel like heaving as he closed his eyes again and his conscience fell into blackness.

When he came to again he didn't immediately open his eyes, he felt the rocking of something beneath him and cold sheets on top of him. Loki tried to get his eyes to open, they were heavy like lead. People in white uniforms walked around him. _Nurses . . . and doctors_, thought Loki with some difficulty. He felt sluggish and soon after his eyes closed once more.

The third time he opened his eyes they stayed open and he was alone. Or so he thought. Though he had heard nothing, which was what had caused him to think himself alone; he soon saw that Bruce sat in a chair next to him fast asleep. Even in his sleep there were worry lines on his forehead.

Loki took the opportunity to look around. Despite the fact that he was pretty sure it wasn't the actual room, it looked exactly like the one where Bruce had been kept. Except now their roles were reversed. Loki was the hurt one, the one in need and Bruce was the one to faithfully wait by his side.

He meant to only grip his hand but he should have known that Bruce would wake up. His eyes flashed open and upon seeing Loki awake, he held his hand tight too.

"Loki," he whispered like they weren't allowed to talk any louder. "How are you feeling?"

"Groggy, a little disoriented. Where are we?" he asked.

"Same place where I was," replied Bruce still in that soft voice. "I mean . . . it's a different room of course . . . yeah different room, same people though—"

"Shh," replied Loki as he quieted his rambling. No wonder Bruce was being so quite. All those unwanted memories coming back to him. Loki remembered nights when he had had to hold Bruce tight from unwanted nightmares. However, Bruce had been able to repress those memories for a while now, until he came here.

"If you're uncomfortable you can leave."

Bruce gave a sad soft smile. "No matter how uncomfortable I'm not leaving you by yourself. Though I doubt you'll be alone for long."

"What do you mean?" asked Loki with a confused glance.

"Nick Fury at the moment is the last thing keeping that brother of yours not to electrocute this entire facility."

Loki gave a low chuckle as he replied, "Well, he always did love to be dramatic."

As if on cue, Thor burst through the room, in his full armor as per usual, with Mjolnir by his side. "Brother!" he cried out in his booming voice. "What has befallen you?"

Loki rolled his eyes at his brother's speech but then frowned upon seeing deepening worry go across Thor's face. Loki then remembered one of the things that had frightened him so much. Loki gulped as he asked, "Are my eyes still black?"

Thor nodded as Loki turned to Bruce. "And when where you going to tell me that?"

"I was . . . working my way up to it," he murmured.

"So what's wrong with me?" whispered Loki more to himself than to anyone else.

"Well that's the problem," replied Bruce, "we don't know. Not even Thor as any ideas."


	2. Chapter 2

"We did a few tests while—"

"Wait, we?" Loki interrupted Bruce. "So you're also trying to figure out what's wrong with me?"

Bruce nodded. "Even though this kind of stuff isn't really Tony's area, he's still helping us along with it and that goes for Jarvis as well. We also did a CAT scan while you were asleep as well."

At Loki's, and Thor's, confused faces, which would have been extremely funny under normal circumstances, Bruce quickly explained. "A CAT scan is pretty much an x-ray."

When they still obviously didn't understand Bruce said, "It allows you to see things like bones, tissue, and organs without having to cut into the person or kill them."

Though they still obviously didn't understand it entirely, they understood enough for Bruce to continue. "Anyway, they are trying to find if anything is there that shouldn't be there, like a tumor or growth or something." As Bruce said this, he seemed to become less confident.

Loki already knew why. "They don't think it's something physical that's wrong with me do they."

"No," Bruce replied. "Some of them are seriously considering that you're going insane but that wouldn't account for color change in your eyes."

Loki nodded and then realized what Bruce had actually said. "You know about the voice?"

"When you were out . . . you spoke of it . . . a lot," replied Bruce a little reluctantly.

"Excuse, me but I do not understand," interrupted Thor. "Of what 'voice' do you speak of?"

Loki took a deep breath before he began to explain. He told them about when it had first appeared and what it said. He also told them of what it had said in the bathroom before he fainted. However, he left out the part of it wanting to kill Bruce first. "It also said that it would take control over me by next week."

"And what do you think that means?"

"Exactly what I said," answered Loki. "It means that it'll probably have full control of my body and maybe even my mind."

Everyone stayed silent for a little while long until Loki turned to Bruce and asked, "What exactly did I say when I wasn't conscience?"

"Things like, get out of my head, I'm not like that anymore, go away," he replied. Then he added one more. "Don't hurt Bruce."

Loki winced at the last comment but didn't say anything. When he finally spoke, instead of explaining what he had meant when he had said that, he questioned, "What did you mean by 'even Thor didn't know'?"

This time Thor answered. "Some of them think it extraterrestrial but so far I cannot think of anything that could do what you have described so far. I've consulted with many others, people of Midgard and Asgard, but no one can think of what it could be. I am thinking of asking father—"

"No!" yelled Loki startling both Bruce and his brother. His face became slightly calmer as he said, "I mean, please just . . . I just don't want to involve him . . . at all."

Thor looked like he might argue but Bruce put up his hand to stop him. He knew Loki better than all most anyone and that just pushing and prodding would not make him agree to something, especially if he was against the idea so much. Maybe they would have to bring in Odin but until they had to they would not upset Loki by mentioning him Bruce decided.

_Or maybe I could kill dear old daddy._

Loki shot straight up, his hands covering his face. Thor and Bruce immediately rushed to his side to see what was wrong.

Bruce tried to ask, "Loki what's—"

"I-i-it's back," Loki said as his voice shook along with his body. "The voice it's . . ." he trailed off as the voice spoke again.

_You do remember what I said don't you? You'll be in my control by the end of next week. So many people will die then. It'll be glorious._

_No it isn't! How can you say killing people is glorious! _Loki countered back_._

_But weren't you the one who said that you wanted a glorious battle._

Loki couldn't argue with that.

_You know, you seem in so much denial I would think that you didn't believe me about taking control over you as well. Do you? If no, maybe this will help._

Blinding pain shot through Loki's skull like an electric shock that caused him to let out a wild, blood-curdling scream. Bruce and Thor immediately tried to stop him as two other doctors and Fury rushed in at the sound.

"Loki you got to calm down!" yelled Bruce over his screams. Loki thrashed about like he was having a seizure as Bruce said again, "You have to calm down!"

By this time, the other doctors were also helping to hold him down. They were about to inject him with a sedative when finally he stopped thrashing and his screams turned to gasps as sobs escaped his throat.

"Get it out," he whispered through his tears. He grabbed onto Bruce's hand so tight that for a moment Bruce thought it would break. Loki looked at him through tears with pleading eyes. Bruce was about to say something but Loki spoke before Bruce could even open his mouth. "Please, just get it out," he whispered.

Then he passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

After Loki had passed out and Bruce had stayed with him for a few more minutes, he went to see how Tony, Jarvis, and the other scientists were doing. However, as he walked down the he ran into Coulson, who he still couldn't believe was alive.

"Aw, Dr. Banner, what are you doing here?" asked Coulson with mild surprise.

"You mean you haven't heard?" Bruce asked in shock. He would have thought for sure that Fury would have told him of what had happened.

Upon seeing Bruce's worried face, Coulson frowned in concern as he tried to think of what could have occurred. He then asked, "What's happened?"

Bruce described what had happened with Loki, not going into great detail because he knew that if Coulson wanted to know anything more he'd go ask Fury. "I'm going to go see the scientists now to see if any of the test results have come back. I doubt it though since it hasn't been too long."

"I'll accompany you," said Coulson as he began to walk with Bruce.

Before they got to the lab Bruce stopped again and turned to Coulson who looked curious to what Bruce might say.

"Listen," Bruce said slowly like he wasn't sure of his words, "before you go in there, you have to understand that a good majority of the people in there think Loki is going insane. That it isn't anything physical. I just had to ask your—"

"Bruce," Coulson said softly as he put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder to quite him. "You have to understand, yes I have missed out on a year with you but that does not mean I didn't watch you from the sidelines. It killed me when I heard what happened to you—"

Bruce once again winced at the memory.

"—and I felt immensely sorry for what happened when Tony had that outburst, though I am happy he got everything to work out."

"And your point is?" questioned Bruce, interested to where this was going.

"My point . . . is that I have seen how you have all changed, all in good ways I might add and that includes Loki. Yes I still feel annoyed at him on my best days and downright furious at him on my worst for what he did. However, there are two things that I know for certain about him now." Coulson then paused for effect so that Bruce could process what he had just said.

"One, I know that Loki loves you more than anything and that he would never let you come to harm," he finally stated. "And two, he may be one of the strangest people on this planet, next to his brother of course. He may have the strangest ideas and he may even seem crazy at times. But, he is not insane. That, I know for a fact."

Bruce gave a slight smile and Coulson gave that oh so familiar small, half smile. Bruce let out a huge breath that he had not realized that he had been holding when he finally said, "Thank you."

"Your welcome," replied Coulson as once again they began to walk. He followed Bruce into the lab and became quite angry at what he saw. Though Tony and Jarvis, who he was still getting use to having a body, were running back and forth from monitor to machine to cabinet, the rest of the scientists looked like they were barely working. Some of them seemed indifferent to the whole situation but a select few turned their eyes upon Bruce like daggers. It was obvious they hated him either because of his relationship with Loki, him being the Hulk, or both.

However, Bruce either didn't notice or didn't _seem_ to notice as he walked over to Tony. Every scientist that was glaring quickly dropped their eyes as Coulson gave each of them glance that said 'if you don't get to work I will punish you in the worst way possible.'

Tony seemed a little surprised at Coulson being their but all he did was say hello and go back to staring at a chart on a monitor.

"Found anything?" asked Bruce with obviously little hope.

Tony sighed and showed Bruce what he was looking at. "If it wasn't for Thor being here, I would be saying that Loki should be dead already. However, according to Mr. Thunder, his blood work and everything else should look like this."

Tony was right, it was absolutely amazing looking at Loki's DNA and what not but that didn't help them get any closer to what was wrong with him.

"So why'd you come back here? I thought you'd be with Loki at the moment."

"I was," said Bruce looking down at the ground. "He did wake up and . . . he heard the voice again and it did something. I don't know what; it was like he had a seizure."

Tony bit his lip, trying to think of what one could say at a moment like this when someone coughed. However, that cough sounded very close to the word 'insane.' For not the first time that day, Tony wished that he had put lasers in Jarvis' eyes because if he had, there would be a good number of unwanted scientists being turned into dust from the way Jarvis was glaring at the culprit right now.

Jarvis stopped glaring, however, to turn back to everyone else as he said, "The CAT scan has come in." He walked over to stand beside Tony and pulled up the results on the monitor.

"I doubt that's supposed to be there," murmured Tony as he gestured for the others to take a look.

Coulson looked closely at it, his brow becoming wrinkled. A few other scientists also came to see what they were looking at. Bruce also looked at the data and he raised his eyebrow in surprise at what he saw.

"I'm pretty sure your right about that Tony," Bruce said. "That most certainly shouldn't be there."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews, and story alerts. I'm glad you're enjoying this and I hope you like this next chapter.**

* * *

Loki was dreaming.

It was strange because this one was so much more real than any other dream he had had. And much more terrifying.

He was trapped inside a room stained red with fresh blood. It was sticky to the touch and the smell of salt and iron filled his senses. Loki looked around trying to figure out what he should do while his heart raced and sweat covered his face. As he turned around he jumped back out of fright, behind him stood the figure of a man. However, there were no actual features upon him, like eyes or hair or clothes, it looked like a manikin made out of black material.

"Hello Loki," said a voice. It seemed to be coming from the thing but it had no mouth.

However, Loki recognized the voice immediately. "You're it. The voice that's been in my head!" he cried out as he backed up against the wall.

"Yes I am. Personally, I'm hurt that you don't realize were you are right now. I got the room ready just for you."

"Ready for me . . ?"

"Yes, of course. This is the room full of all the innocent blood you've spilt."

As the voice spoke, blood oozed down the wall from cracks in the ceilings and wall. It didn't matter where Loki stood; it fell on him, soaking into his hair and clothes.

"You say you're not a monster but look at this! All the death and destruction you've caused, it's beautiful!"

"There's nothing beautiful about!" yelled Loki right back at it as he tried to wipe the blood running down him. "Yes I did wrong but I'm not like that anymore!"

"Did wrong? That's the mildest way you could possibly put what you did into words," laughed the thing as it walked over to him. Once again, Loki tried to back away but he had run out of room. With his back up against the wall, the thing stopped its advance.

"Why are doing this? What do you want from me?" whispered Loki.

"Well, right now I just wanted to show you something," the voice replied. Then suddenly Bruce appeared right next to him.

* * *

Before they could continue analyzing the results, Tony's phone rang. He answered the call, nodded to himself, said a few words, and then turned to everyone else. "Something is happening with Loki that Fury thinks we should see," said Tony. "Don't ask me what because that's all he said to me."

Bruce nodded and soon the group started its way back to Loki's room. Bruce and Coulson led the way with Tony and Jarvis behind them. They tried to not look anxious despite the fact that they all were.

When they got there, Thor, Fury, and another doctor were in the room. The doctor walked up to Bruce and said, "His eyes started moving rapidly which suggests that he's having a nightmare. We were debating whether to wake him when he started talking and we thought you should probably hear this."

Bruce nodded and walked over to Loki. It was like hearing a person talk on the phone, you only get one side of the conversation.

"Don't hurt him, please," whispered Loki in a barely audible voice. There was a pause before he spoke again. "I won't trade his life for another. I'm not a monster. You can't expect me to choose between one of my friends. No, I won't trade Coulson's life in exchange for Bruce's."

A few eyebrows went up at the mention of their names but everyone stayed silent.

"Just because I nearly killed him does not mean that I want to finish the job!" Loki then said, he voice growing angrier and angrier. "Coulson is as much a part of the Avengers as the arc reactor is a part of Tony! He may still hate me but he is a friend to Bruce, Tony, Steve, and everyone else. No I wouldn't trade a random human life for one of my friends either! Don't you get it, you can't do that!"

* * *

"I can do whatever I want," said the voice with a smirk. As if to prove it, one of the manikin hands began to change into long, sharp pointed spears. It cut into Loki's chest, making him gasp for air. With, thin, painful strokes, the thing wrote on him, saying each word as he wrote it down. "Just wait, I can do so much more than just kill your friends."

Once, he was finished, the thing took a step back as if to admire his handy work. Then, the face, or were a face should be, split open to reveal two rows of sharp teeth. The thing smiled, its mouth stretching all the way from one side of its head to another. It was a smile that would have made the Joker quake in fear.

* * *

Loki's words shocked everyone, Coulson probably the most. Loki stayed silent for a few more moments when suddenly his eyes flashed open and he began to gasp for air.

"Loki, it's okay," Bruce said quickly as he took Loki's hand in his. "Don't worry it was only a dream."

"A dream," said Loki softly. Suddenly, he started coughing and he pushed himself up. He pulled down on his hospital robe. "If it was just a dream, why is this on me?"

Carved into Loki's chest were the words, 'Just wait, I can do so much more than just kill your friends.' Blood dripped from it, turning the white sheets to crimson.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews again. Enjoy! ^^**

* * *

"You're saying that the voice thing did this to you in the dream and it somehow became real?" Tony asked for not the first time. They had already bandaged up Loki, who had told them his dream and what had happened in it.

"I do not know how it did it, I just know it did," said Loki in irritation.

"Well, I think we know at least something about this 'it,'" Bruce suddenly said. He had gotten the CAT scan results printed out and now laid them down in front of Loki.

"See this, this is your brain," spoke Bruce as he pointed at it. "This right here, is not your brain." He pointed at what looked like a large black spot in the middle of the right side of Loki's brain. "At first I thought it could be some type of tumor but it's not, far from it."

Loki's fingers trailed over the papers as he thought silently. He then turned to Bruce and asked, "What is it then?"

Tony stepped up now and said, "So far we don't know for sure. However, we think it might be alive."

Loki's eyes widened slightly at the thought of it being alive. "How did you figure that out?" he asked softly with obvious hope that Tony was wrong about his theory.

Bruce put down a second set of results. "We took two CAT scans, one almost immediately after you got here and one almost two hours later. As you can see, the dark area has moved slightly and it looks to have gotten slightly bigger. So far, my idea is that it's a like a parasite."

"A parasite?"

Bruce nodded. "My idea is that if we can get it out of you it should die almost right away since it does seem to need a host."

Loki raised an eyebrow. He knew that it wasn't as simple as that. "But . . ."

"But we don't know how to do it without damaging your brain. Also, if this thing is alive, for all we know it could kill you before we take it out. No one knows what it is exactly but for now we're almost positive that it's either extraterrestrial or some type of mutated whatever thingy."

"Very scientific," muttered Loki with a small smile.

Bruce smiled back but once the smile disappeared he became tired and worried once more. "Loki, I know you don't want to but—"

"I know what you're going to say and the answer is still no. I am not bringing my father into this," replied Loki, his voice suddenly cold.

Thor stepped forward now and asked, "But what about someone else? We could even bring Sif—"

"I would rather see father than any of you friends."

"They are still our—"

"Not anymore," replied Loki. "You may be more forgiving but they were never extremely fond of me to begin with. My mistakes have probably only made it worse."

"Are you—"

"I am positive brother now leave it," Loki interrupted with an icy glare at Thor.

* * *

After the discussion, Tony, Jarvis, Fury, and Coulson left leaving Thor and Bruce behind. Thor put his hand on Loki's shoulder in a comforting gesture before leaving as well. It was only when Thor was most assuredly gone that Loki began to cry.

"Loki . . ."

Loki put up his hand to stop Bruce from saying anything. It was obvious he needed to let it all out at least for a little bit. Loki let the tears stream down his face, his hand covering his mouth to quite the sobs that escaped his lips. His body shook as he cried.

Bruce embraced him, becoming the thing that held him together, kept him from falling apart, as Loki let it all out. Loki buried his head into Bruce's shoulder as his hands gripped his shirt.

"I'm scared," he whispered. "I'm so scared and I don't know what to do. I want it out of me. I don't want it here."

Bruce took hold of Loki's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes as he said, "And it will get it out of you. I promise. We just need time."

"Well, you have until the end of next week," muttered Loki in despair as he remembered the things words. "You know, sometimes I wish I was just going crazy."

"Loki don't—"

"I mean it Bruce. If this keeps on like this I will go insane. Every moment I'm expecting to hear that voice again. Every waking second and now I'm not even safe in my dreams anymore. I try to ignore, make it go away. But it won't," said Loki.

Bruce gently stroked his hair as he looked at Loki. He stayed silent for a moment or two until he finally said, "Try to rest for a while."

"But I'm afraid to go to sleep."

"I didn't say go to sleep. Just rest," replied Bruce, still stroking Loki's hair.

"Will you stay?"

It broke Bruce's heart to leave him alone for a second but he said, "I need to see if we can find anything else about the creature but I promise that I'll be back as soon as possible. I promise." He kissed Loki on the cheek, squeezed his hand, and then walked on back to the lab. Loki watched him leave, fear growing in him the moment he was alone.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki lay in the bed, refusing to fall asleep; he didn't want to have to go through a dream like that again. However, there wasn't really anything else for him to do besides think and thinking was something he really didn't want to do either. Loki sat like that, tossing and turning, trying to figure out what to do, seeing as there was no one else in the room. He really was in a predicament.

That is, until Coulson walked in.

At first Loki didn't notice him because he had his back turned to him and when he did roll over he was staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, taking deep breathes to keep calm, before he opened them again. It was only when Coulson cleared his throat that Loki realized he was standing there.

The sudden noise startled Loki more than it usually would have. He pushed himself up to stare at Coulson as he wondered what he could possibly be doing here. Through Loki's eyes, Coulson could see surprise, wariness, and remorse. The wariness probably shocked Coulson the most, the surprise and remorse not so much. Why would Loki ever be afraid of him?

Neither one of them talked for quite a while until Loki finally said, "You can sit down if you like Agent Coulson."

Coulson took the invitation and sat but still no one talked. Loki looked down at the ground, obviously uncomfortable. Coulson, however, continued to stare at him for several more minutes like he was studying a specimen in a science class.

When Coulson did talk, he said the last thing Loki expected him to say. "What do you think of Dr. Banner?"

Loki had been uncomfortable to begin with but now he was caught off guard as well. "I . . ."

"It's a simple enough question," replied Coulson when Loki didn't answer immediately. "What do you think of Dr. Banner?"

"I think he's a brilliant scientist. I think he has some of the best friends in the world because they trust him and are willing to risk their life for him," replied Loki. "I also think . . . that he is kind and caring . . . and cute . . . and I love him."

Coulson gave a slight nod as he thought about what Loki had said. Finally after a few moments he spoke again. "You're not the only one who can tell when people are lying," said Coulson. "I'm probably one of the best when it comes to seeing if someone is lying and you—"

Loki closed his eyes, waiting to hear what Coulson was planning to say.

"—are not lying," he finished. Loki looked up at him in surprise. He had been expecting some sort of accusation. Not this.

"I can also tell you're good for Dr. Banner, which is nice. He needs someone else to lean on every once in a while," said Coulson.

"So you're not planning to kill me?" asked Loki.

_So that's why he had looked wary_, thought Coulson. "As tempting as that sounds, no. Maybe when your better I'll beat you up but no, I won't kill you."

"So you actually think I might get better?"

"Why, you don't?" countered Coulson.

"No. They'll probably have to end up killing me off anyway."

"Say that one more time and I will slap you," warned Coulson.

Loki looked up sharply, extremely surprised at what he had said. Coulson continued with, "You'd end up breaking Bruce's heart and I can't have that and, whether you realize it or not, you'd also hurt Stark and Mr. Rogers. You also can't forget about your brother or Jarvis."

Loki stayed silent for a few moments until he finally asked, "Why are you being nice to me?"

"Nice? I'm not being nice," replied Coulson. "I'm just being honest."

"Okay, then why are you being honest with me?" Loki then asked.

"Because after hearing what you said I feel obligated to at least do that," replied Coulson. When Loki looked confused, he explained, "You said that you wouldn't trade my life for Bruce's. In fact, you said you wouldn't trade any human's life for another. You said that you couldn't do that. Even if what you experienced was only a dream, it was real to you and I could tell you meant every word you said. You've grown beyond what you use to be."

Loki looked down at the ground, tears once again coming to his eyes. Finally he said, "Thank you."

Coulson nodded and began to turn away when he was stopped by a tug to his jacket. He looked back to see Loki looking down while holding on tight to Coulson's clothes.

"I know that I never did you any favors, far from it," said Loki, "but, Agent Coulson, would you mind staying, at least 'til Bruce gets back. I . . . I don't want to be alone."

"You're afraid," said Coulson softly to himself.

"Of course I'm afraid!" barked Loki. "Just . . . please don't leave me alone."

It was tempting to leave the broken god by himself, he certainly deserved it. However, as Coulson looked at him, he mentally shook himself. He was getting to soft.

"Yeah, I'll stay with you," replied Coulson as he sat back down. "And you don't have to call me Agent Coulson. Just call me Coulson, everyone does."

"Thank you . . . Coulson."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I just wanted to thank you** **Lena7623** **for your wonderful comment and that it's perfectly fine if you ramble on the review page. I hope everyone likes this next chapter.**

* * *

Five days had passed and they hadn't gotten any closer to figuring out how to remove the parasite or what it actually was or where it came from. Also, according to the voice, they only had six more days. Loki was having more nightmares and was hearing the voice more often as well. To put it simply, Bruce was already frustrated, which wasn't a good thing, and what Thor had just told him was not helping. He took several deep breathes to keep his heart rate down as he rubbed his face.

"Please tell me you're joking Thor."

"Why would I joke of something this serious?" asked Thor with a confused look.

"I know you wouldn't joke about this," sighed Bruce. "However, I told you not to do something and you did it. It's fairly easy to say that I'm a little bit irritated."

"But it was the right thing," countered Thor. "This may be the only way we can find out what is happening to Loki. Besides, if we can't find out what's wrong with him and he dies then this could be the last time father sees him."

"He is not going to die!" yelled Bruce, causing everyone to whip around and face him. It was obvious that everyone expected him to suddenly 'go green.' Bruce let his hands drop to the table as he tried to calm himself.

Tony tried to talk to him but before he could get a word out Bruce said, "I just need some air." He quickly walked out of the room before anyone could say anything.

"Well that was just great," said Tony sarcastically as he fell back into his seat.

"I do have to say that I think you could have told him that Odin was coming a little bit better," said Jarvis as he walked over to stand next to them.

"What other way could I say it besides saying, 'Odin is coming'?" asked Thor.

"It's not how you say it it's when you say it," said Tony as he motioned with his hands. "See, you're supposed to build up to it. You know, make small talk, ask about the weather and then state that daddy dearest is coming, not just go out and say it."

"So you do not think that I should tell my brother?"

"Personally, I think someone else should say it. Your way is to . . . forward," Tony replied.

* * *

Lucky for them, Bruce was already breaking the news to Loki. He stood in front of him and said, "Loki, there's something important that I need to tell you."

Loki frowned at the look on Bruce's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong per say," Bruce said slowly. "I just don't think you'll be to pleased with what I have to say."

"What happened?" asked Loki.

"Nothing really happened it's just that, well . . . your father is coming."

"He . . . is . . . here?"

"Not yet, but he is coming. Thor told him," Bruce admitted.

Loki stayed silent for a few minutes until he finally said, "Get my brother in here. Now."

_Well, at least he hasn't started yelling yet_, thought Bruce as he went to go get Thor.

As he left, Loki sighed as he wondered if his brother would ever do something that he asked him to do. He really didn't want to see his father. It wasn't that he was afraid of him, well maybe a little, but it was mainly because of how their last encounter had gone.

The last time he had spoken to Odin was right before he was punished for his crimes on Earth and Asgard. To put it mildly, they exchanged some very choice words and for all Loki knew, he was better off dead to him.

He looked up when Thor walked in with Bruce. He didn't say anything immediately, just stared at his brother. Finally he asked, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"You know what," Loki responded through clinched teeth. "I told you to not bring father into this, Bruce agreed with me, and yet you still told him."

"Brother, we need to find out what is wrong with you. So far, no progress has been made among the humans and I do not wish your death," replied Thor. "Besides, father has expressed to me that he has wanted to see you. He misses you."

"He misses me? Oh, how touching that is," Loki replied with the same malice he use to always have in his voice. "You do remember what my punishment was do you not? The punishment that _he_ chose for _me_? It wasn't punishment. It was torture!"

"Brother—"

"Don't you dare 'brother' me this or 'brother' me that. You did not have to experience the pain I had to and I swear, if you don't go back to Asgard right now and tell him to leave me be I will make you myself."

_There it is that cruel voice. I knew it wasn't lost._

"Go away," Loki whispered as his hands covered his face.

"If that is what you wish brother—"

"Not you," interrupted Loki, "the voice."

Everyone stayed silent for what seemed like hours as they waited to see if anything happened or if the voice came back. However, when nothing happened, Thor said, "If you truly wish to not see father I will tell him."

"Thank you," Loki said with a sigh as he lifted his face.

"Um, that might be a problem," Tony suddenly said as he popped his head in. "You see, he's already here."

Odin suddenly walked passed him, dressed in his Asgardian clothes and looking every inch of the king he was. He looked from person to person until his eyes fell on Bruce. Much to Bruce's dismay Odin walked up to him and said, "You must be my son's spouse. It is a pleasure to meet you."


	8. Chapter 8

Loki's pale complexion betrayed him as his face lit up as red as a fire truck while Bruce turned a deep crimson. "We aren't . . . well what I mean to say is . . . you see we aren't really married . . ."

"But you are his partner. His significant other are you not?" asked Odin as he looked down at Bruce.

"Yeah, I mean yes sir," Bruce quickly said, his face still extremely heated.

Odin looked over him like he was examining food on a buffet. It was very unnerving for poor Bruce who felt like he really needed a chair at that moment. Loki's father looked over him once more and then, seeming satisfied, said, "You are a good match." As he turned away Bruce fell against the wall, already exhausted.

"Hello son," Odin then said as he finally turned to Loki.

For a moment nobody said anything as Loki looked at his hands instead of turning to face his dad. However, he eventually said, "Hello father."

Odin walked over to him and took hold of his face, pulling it up so that Loki could no longer look at the ground. "Black eyes," he murmured. He let go but Loki didn't drop his face. Instead, he stared up at him, waiting for the next words that he would speak.

However, he turned away from Loki to look at Thor now as he said, "You called me here to see if I could help Loki, find out what is wrong with him."

Thor nodded in affirmation. "Yes," he said, "we cannot find out what is wrong. He is hearing voices and having these dreams that are sometimes brought into the real world."

As they exchanged words, Loki clenched and unclenched his hands. "So you still trust Thor's judgment over mine. And, for your information, it is one voice," snarled Loki.

Odin turned back to Loki who expected him to deny what he had just said. However, Odin responded with, "Of course I trust Thor's judgment more than yours. He saved the world, you tried to rule it. He protected others while you destroyed."

Loki flinched as if the accusations had actually stung him but kept quite.

"However, what has happened has happened to you and you are the only one that can give me a firsthand experience. So, tell me what is wrong," Odin said.

"There's a voice in my head," began Loki. He talked slowly like he wasn't use to talking to his father; instead he was more use to yelling at him. "The voice says things like I'm a monster, that I miss hurting people and that it'll make me kill again. I say I've changed that I'm different now."

"And are you?" interrupted Odin.

It was obvious Loki wanted to yell something but he stopped himself and instead responded with, "Yes, I have changed and for the better. But anyway, the voice tells me these things, and it also says that it'll be able to control me eventually, make me do all the stuff that I say I don't do anymore. To prove, that it has, power, over me it does certain things like sending pain throughout my body or it hurts me in a dream and when I wake up I'm still hurt."

Odin nodded. Nobody expected him to know what the thing was right away but almost immediately he said, "It is a hudrullator, a skin walker in your language."

"A hudrullator?" asked Thor. "How is that I have never heard of one?"

"Or I?" added Loki.

"They were believed," said Odin, "to be wiped out, hundreds of years ago. There have been no reported sightings of anyone exhibiting symptoms of bearing one of these creatures inside them."

"So you know how to get it out?" asked Tony.

"No, the ways in which you destroy one without destroying the person have been loosed do to the fact that there has been no hudrullators every sighted," answered Odin.

"So you still have no idea how to help me?" asked Loki, bitterness clear in his voice.

"No, but I do know that the answer is much simpler than any of you most likely expect," replied Odin as he turned to leave. "Oh, and Loki?"

Loki looked back at him, his brow furrowed as he wondered what else his father could possibly have to say.

"I do know you have changed, and for the better. I just wanted you to see that as well," replied Odin. He then turned to Bruce who quickly stood straight up, feeling like he was in the principal's office. "And Dr. Banner, if you break my son's heart I will so no mercy."

Bruce gulped and quickly nodded in understanding as Odin left. Once he was gone, Bruce once again fell against the wall as he murmured," Great dad you got there Loki."

"Thanks, he was a thrill to have the parent/teacher meetings."

"You have parent/teacher meetings on Asgard?" asked Tony.

"I was being sarcastic you metal head," muttered Loki, causing Tony to flush in embarrassment.

However, it was not long after that they had another visitor, Coulson. He rushed into the room as everyone turned to look at him.

"Please don't tell me the King of Gods just left."

Everyone nodded that he had.

"Crap, Fury's going to kill me," muttered Coulson.

* * *

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews, they're very much appreciated. For anyone wondering, hudrullator is just a combination of the words hud and rullator. Hud is Norwegian for skin and rullator is Norwegian for walker.**


	9. Chapter 9

Three days had passed since Odin's visit and so far no progress had been made. According to the voice they only had three more days left as well. So far, it seemed that Loki was doomed until Bruce suddenly found something.

"Tony!"

"What Bruce?" Tony asked as he went over to see what could have made him so excited.

"I figured it out," Bruce said excitedly. "To be able to detach the hudrullator from his brain we have to have at least half a ton of weight pushed with enough momentum to knock the thing out and, if my calculations are correct which they should be, the hudrullator will be forced to let go."

"So in other words, we have to hit him really hard upside the head."

"Well, yes."

"Now wasn't that easier to say."

"No, not really," replied Bruce.

"Okay, but you said half ton," Tony commented. "Wouldn't that kill him?"

Bruce shook his head, "No actually. However, the problem is how do we get that much weight pushed at a fast enough momentum."

"Well, I could get in my Ironman suit and hit him or Thor could whack him with his hammer."

"Really Tony?"

"What do you have any better ideas?'

* * *

However, they should have known the voice wouldn't be entirely honest because in truth, they didn't have three more days left. They had three minutes.

Loki, who had eventually fallen asleep was tossing and turning while looking extremely feverish and panicked despite the fact that he wasn't even awake. No one was in the room either, so no one knew what was happening.

Loki's veins bulged as his heart rate sped up faster and faster. Sweat dripped down his forehead as his body temperature heated up.

* * *

He was in the room again, the voice standing in front of him in the black manikin like thing. Loki was finding it extremely hard to breathe as he tried to clear the blood from his mouth. However, before he could, the voice picked him up by the scruff and threw him against a wall causing him to let out a cry of pain.

"You say you won't kill your friends," said the voice as it grabbed Loki by the arm, twisting it completely upside down and breaking it. "You say you don't want to hurt anyone else but just you wait. I plan to make so much carnage, and all by your hands."

The voice grabbed him once more as it punched him in the side of the face so hard that his skin split open. He punched him again and again until his face was just a bloody mass.

"My . . . friends," Loki had to stop as he threw up more and more blood. "They . . . they will stop you."

The voice laughed, cold and malicious. Then, without warning, it began to change. Features began to appear on it along with clothes as it began to actually have a figure.

"You know I think I make this body look better than you do," said the voice with a laugh as it walked around. Its eyes were still black and it was wearing Asgardian armor instead of civilian clothing but besides that it was an exact replica. The voice now looked exactly like Loki. "Looks like I now have full control of your body," it said as it smiled. "Let the carnage begin."

* * *

Loki's body jerked upright, remained still for a while longer, and then suddenly the eyes opened. The voice, using Loki's body, slowly got up and looked around. Then, a large smile split across the face. As it stood up, the hospital robe was replaced with the Asgardian armor. The voice walked over to the doorway and looked out, no one was in the hallway.

"I think I'll pay a visit to Bruce first," the voice said to itself. It walked out into the hallway and headed in the direction that it was fairly sure the lab was. However, before it got there, it ran into Tony.

Tony only needed to look at it once to realize that it wasn't Loki. "Oh, crap."

The voice lashed out at Tony, throwing him back nearly fifty feet. Before Tony could get up, the voice was already in front of him, pinning him down with Loki's staff which it had also made appear.

"You don't know how much fun this will be," said the voice with a smile that shouldn't have been able to stretch that far across.

"Fun?" choked Tony. "There will be nothing fun. We're going to beat you to a bloody pulp, get you out of Loki, and kill you. If you think that's fun then you're even more messed up than I thought."

"Say what you will," replied the voice in an almost lazy like manner. It then let go of Tony and walked passed him.

As Tony pushed himself up he yelled, "I thought you were planning to kill everyone in your path!"

"Do not worry, I'll be back for you," replied the voice. "However, there is someone who I promised to kill first and I always keep my promises."

As the voice continued to walk towards the lab Tony tried to get up but found that when he had been thrown, his foot had been broken. He dragged himself over to the far wall where a fire alarm was.

The voice walked into the lab and smiled as it saw the back of Bruce's head. "You know, Loki loves you quite a bit. You should have seen him when I said I was planning to kill you first."

Bruce whipped around at the sound of the voice and quickly began to back up.

"Oh, that won't do you any good. There's only one door out of here and I'm in between you, and it."

The voice then picked up a table and threw it at Bruce who fell down hard. As the voice walked over to him Bruce carefully picked himself up as he said, "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

Bruce had lost count on how many times he had said those words. However, he had always said them as a warning. This was the first time he spoke them as a threat.

"Really I'd like to see you even try to hurt me."

"Oh, I won't hurt you," replied Bruce. "I could never do something like that. It's the 'other guy' you have to worry about."

Then Bruce transformed into the Hulk.


	10. Chapter 10

Fury was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. No one had seen a fire but the alarm was going off like crazy. He still made sure that people were being evacuated but at the same time he was trying to figure out what was happening. Then he saw Stark.

Jarvis was caring him and they both seemed to be in a hurry to get out of there. "Stark, what did you do?" yelled Fury as he met them halfway down the hallway.

"Besides pulling the fire alarm and getting my ankle broken I didn't do anything and, might I add, we should get out of here as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Because that thing took over Loki, it was headed towards the lab where Bruce was, and something tells me the green sasquatch isn't to far behind," replied Tony as they continued down the hallway.

"Thor is here so he can fight, we can get a call to Rogers so that he can come and help as well if we have to. Can you fight?" asked Fury.

"Maybe if I get this ankle wrapped up but I can't say for sure."

* * *

While S.H.E.I.L.D. evacuated the building and the Hulk battled with the voice, Loki was fighting his own battle while he was trapped inside his own body.

And he was losing.

Loki fell down again as the voice kicked him in the stomach and then did a side kick to Loki's chest. He could feel his ribs brake as he tried to get up but fell back down again.

"You know, I never knew that doctor could have so much power dwelling beneath him. This will be a lot more fun than I originally thought," said the voice with a laugh.

_Bruce has changed_, thought Loki. _Maybe he'll be able to stop it._

"You, on the other hand, are really getting boring," the voice said as it stepped on Loki's back to keep him still. "I could kill you right now, and then I'd have this body completely to myself. However, I do get lonely so maybe I'll keep you alive a bit longer."

The voice picked up Loki with one hand as he said this and looked at him. Loki in response threw up.

"You really are pathetic," muttered the voice as he dropped him back on to the ground. "I can't believe you use to think you could even rule the world."

* * *

It could have been because the Hulk hadn't been able to move around as himself in a while, or maybe it was because he was just unexpectedly angry today. Either way, the Hulk seemed much more powerful than it usually was as it ripped apart the building around itself and through the pieces at the voice. However, the voice seemed to have enhanced not only Loki's body's endurance but also healing, speed, and strength. It looked like the Hulk had actually met its match.

The voice grinned wickedly as it picked up a metal beam the Hulk had just thrown at him and threw it right back. The force pushed the Hulk all the way to the back of the lab as the voice laughed manically.

"This is becoming fun," said the voice.

"Rawr!" the Hulk yelled as it ran at the voice like a cannonball coming out of a cannon.

* * *

The voice had turned around and was stretching as Loki pushed himself off the ground. He was bleeding badly and he ached all over. In truth, Loki could barely stand as he leaned against the wall. He walked up behind the voice and then, with all his strength, flung himself at him and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Ooh, maybe you do still have some fire left in you," the voice smirked. It grabbed Loki's arms and then bent over as he threw Loki over his back.

Loki managed to push himself up but by the time he was on his feet the voice was already there in front of him. It punched him in the face again and then brought his foot down on Loki's shoulder. Nonetheless, Loki got up again and tried to go after the voice. However, it knocked him down again.

"How many times do I have to beat you down?" asked the voice. As if in response to its question, Loki got up again.

* * *

Somehow it had been able to actually throw the Hulk. However, that just made the Hulk angrier which made him stronger. Even faster than before, the Hulk ran at the voice.

* * *

"I am not . . . going to let you hurt . . . anyone ever again," said Loki as he spit blood out of his mouth.

"I'm so scared," said the voice sarcastically as it pretended to shake in fear. However, the smirk was quickly wiped off his face as he Loki began to change.

"This is my mind," said Loki as he walked up to the voice. His wounds began to disappear as he stopped. "None of this is real. I'm not really dying; I'm not bleeding or broken. This is my mind," Loki repeated, "and I'm going to do exactly what I want to."

* * *

The Hulk brought its fist up as he towered over the voice who actually began to falter. The Hulk once again let out a huge roar as its fist came back. To put it simply, he was mad and what better way to let out anger than to punch something.

* * *

"Get out of my head!" Loki screamed as he punched the voice. It flew backwards landing on the opposite wall. Loki got on top of him and brought down his fist again and again. "I . . . said . . . GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

* * *

The Hulk's punch flew the voice back through three walls of the building. For a few moments the voice tried to get up until suddenly the staff disappeared, the Asgardian armor turned back into the hospital robe, and finally, Loki's eyes turned from black back to green before he passed out.

The Hulk was surprisingly just as tired as he fell to his knees. Slowly, the creature turned back into Bruce Banner who fainted before the change was even complete.


	11. Chapter 11

When Bruce woke up, he was extremely tired and confused. His body ached all over and he found a few bandages on his left arm but besides that he seemed okay. He looked around and found himself in the room that he used when he was ever working at S.H.E.I.L.D.

Suddenly, everything came back to him, well almost everything. He remembered everything crystal clear right up until he transformed, then it got all fuzzy. However, he remembered one other thing pretty well and that was seeing Loki's body lying in a mass of rubble.

_Oh, god._

Bruce jumped out of his bead and rushed to the door—

—and right into Steve.

"Whoa!" cried Steve as he took a step back. "I come to see how you're doing and you nearly knock me over."

"What happened? Where's Loki? Did I hurt anyone?" asked Bruce in one breath.

"Calm down Bruce," said Steve as he put his hands on Bruce's shoulders. "A good section of the area around the lab and the lab itself is completely trashed but no one was hurt."

"And Loki?"

When Steve remained silent Bruce of course automatically thought the worse. However, Steve quickly said, "Loki's alive and that thing is out of him. You don't have to worry about that."

"Then why didn't you answer right away?" countered Bruce.

"It's just that, well . . . it'll be easier to show you. Besides, he's wanted to see you the moment you would wake up."

"So he is awake?"

"Yes."

"That's good," said Bruce with a sigh. However, he realized exactly what Steve had said and asked, "How long have I been asleep."

"Probably about a day and a half," replied Steve. "Loki hasn't been awake much longer."

"But I can see him now."

"Yeah, come on I'll take you to him," Steve said as he guided Bruce down the hall.

They passed a small amount of people as they made their way through the hallways. However, the people that they did pass avoided eye contact with Bruce, making him remember all the other times he had changed into the 'other guy.' Those thoughts, though, quickly disappeared when he got to Loki's room.

It was extremely busy which surprised him. Natasha and Clint, who he hadn't seen in a while, were there, standing by the door. Fury was in the room as well, standing next to Coulson. Tony was by Jarvis and Thor who was currently helping Loki out of his bed. And into a wheel chair.

Bruce wanted to look away as he saw all the damage he had done. There was a bandage around Loki's head and his whole right arm was covered in white with splotches of read peaking through. Blue bruises with purple lining covered his body where it wasn't covered by clothes or bindings. His right leg looked absolutely horrid just by itself. It was stuck straight out because of two metal bars that kept it straight were on either side of the leg with metal pins stuck into the leg so to keep the metal bars in place. Every bone in that leg must have been crushed.

Loki looked up at the sound of Bruce and Steve walking in and gave a small smile.

_How can he even look at me after all I did to him?_ thought Bruce in despair as he came to stand in front of him.

"Loki I'm . . . I'm so, so sorry—" Bruce tried to apologize but was stopped as Loki pulled him down into a kiss.

When he pulled away Loki asked, "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I did this to you. I put you in a wheel chair and your leg . . ."

"So?"

"How can you just say 'so' like it doesn't matter?"

"Because I'm still alive aren't I?" asked Loki with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, so what you put me in a wheel chair. The doctors say it's not permanent though it will be hard to walk around once I do get this thing out."

"You're not even a little mad at me?" asked Bruce, surprise clear in his eyes.

"Of course I'm a little mad at you. I'm mad that you didn't come to see me sooner," joked Loki with a wolfish grin.

"Now, why do I think that's the pain killers talking to me?" Bruce joked back as he began to ease up.

"Ah, pain killers, what would we do without them," replied Loki, causing everyone in the room to laugh, except for Fury.

"What happened to the single Avengers?" grumbled Fury.

"The single Avengers?" asked Bruce with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, you all use to be single and now looking at you, a bunch of couples that are acting like teenagers on their first date. How are you ever going to manage to save the world again?" Fury said with obvious irritation in his voice. "There are you two, Romanoff and Barton are together, Thor and that scientist Jane are together, and I just found out about Stark and Rogers. I mean really, is there anyone I don't know about?"

"Agent Hill and I have been dating for some time now, sir," put in Coulson.

"What!"

"It was a joke sir."

"It better be," growled Fury as everyone in the room burst into laughter.

"Oh, come on one-eye," said Tony. "It's okay to ease up every once in a while."

"Shut up Stark."

* * *

**AN: Also for those wondering, I didn't just make up the description of Loki's leg out of my head, I actually knew someone where this happened to them. When almost all the bones in someone's arm or leg is broken, they can't just put it in a cast like with a regular break. But, anyway, thanks for all the reviews, story alerts, and what not. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you liked the story as a whole. There may be a sequel, it just depends.**


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